Forest Of Fright
by Dr. Phoenix
Summary: Very shortly after the spell is broken, Belle decides to overcome her nightmares about the wolf attack. However, when she and Adam journey to the forest, they find out more than they wanted to know.


I should be the happiest woman alive. The man I love went from a beast dying in my arms to the living heir to the throne. I am not only a happy bride to a loving husband, but I am also the Queen of France.

I'm still not used to the spell being broken. I keep talking to furniture and household objects. When the items don't respond, I wonder if they've fallen ill, but then I see the humans around me and feel sheepish.

However, I keep having the recurring nightmare about the wolf attack. Adam always pulls me into his arms and reassures me tenderly, but I remember the scars on his right arm, and even though he will never admit it, he too shudders at times when I describe the horrors of the dream.

"Why don't we ask the advisors?" he suggested this morning. "Maybe we can both get some rest."

Before the advisors had the chance to say anything, Cogsworth cleared his throat. "Masters, if you will permit me to say so, as long as you still live in fear, you will continue to have nightmares. I suggest you go to the very clearing where the battle occurred and prove to yourselves that there's nothing there that can harm you. After all, the caretakers of the royal forest do seem to be doing their jobs rather well, although heaven only knows where they were during the spell when those vicious wolves were so ruthlessly attacking…" He stopped himself.

Adam nodded. "Cogsworth does have a point. The forest can't hurt us anymore. If the servants say there are no more wolves, I have no reason to doubt them. What do you think, Belle? Shall we take a walk to the clearing?"

I hesitated. The idea seemed reasonable, but I never wanted to see that wretched place again.

"Perhaps you should take some of your servants," Lumière remarked. "You might feel safer if there were more of you."

"Alright," I answered. "Let's all go. Mrs. Potts and her family, Cogsworth, Maestro Fife, La Plume, Webster, Babette, you…"

Surprisingly, Papa was eager to come. "What are we waiting for?! Let's put the memory of those wolves out of our minds once and for all!"

Despite the warmth of the day, I shivered a bit as we stepped through the castle gate and closed it behind us. Papa was no doubt recalling the wolf that stuck its head through the gate and seized his boot.

"The wolves are gone, Belle," Adam reminded me. "The caretakers of our forest killed them. Remember their coats?"

I nodded. Although it's not considered fashionable, the servants who tend our forest wear coats made of wolf fur. They claim it's completely waterproof and extremely warm, perfect for forest work in the middle of winter.

As we walked into the forest, birds flew from tree to tree as squirrels chattered at each other. The woods were so tranquil and lovely that it was easy to see why our servants were content to spend most of their time here. A rabbit scurried out from among the bushes and paused under a pine tree, twitching its nose before hurrying off.

"Isn't the forest romantic?" Babette hinted. "It's beautiful and mysterious, and here the masters first proved their love for each other. Do you not think King Adam was heroic? He was so strong!"

Lumière rolled his eyes, but he remarked, "It is a shame _le roi_ got only the second-best woman in France."

Satisfied, Babette took his arm and smiled up at him. There's not a soul in the entire castle who isn't hoping Lumière comes to his senses and marries her.

"Well, this is it."

Adam's voice brought my wandering mind back to reality. I looked around at the clearing where I had almost lost my life. It looked entirely different with buds on the trees and no snow on the ground. Rather than the bleakness of a winter night, I saw sunlight dappling the ground with the new foliage.

"We were right to come here, Adam," I stated. "It's not at all like I remember it. In fact, it's actually quite beautiful."

"Were you frightened, sir?" Chip asked.

"I was more angry than frightened," Adam replied. "I wasn't thinking clearly. I just thought how dare she run away from me and how dare those wolves try to ruin my chance to break the spell. However, when the wolves started fighting back and I realized I hadn't been smart enough to grab any weapons, then I was afraid."

"You should be." Louve, one of the head caretakers of the royal forest, came to stand beside our group.

Cogsworth crossed his arms impatiently. "How long have you been standing there?! Is it a habit with you appearing silently out of nowhere?!"

"Long enough, and yes."

Louve removed her dagger from its scabbard and began tossing it into the air, catching it by the hilt, and tossing it again. "Notice you don't have your horse."

I nodded. Louve claims the reason for her broken arm that never healed properly is that she was kicked by a horse, but when anyone asks her for more details, she gets quiet. She's more concerned for her brother, Loup, who has a permanent limp from an improperly healed broken leg. His ankle is almost completely backwards, and he often falls.

Having tired of her game, Louve returned her dagger to its rightful sheathe and remarked over her shoulder, "Loup, they found it."

Loup's voice reached us before he did. "Oh yes. The place where the Beast lost the fight."

He finally managed to limp into view, sweating as he leaned against a tree for support. Although he was too brave to complain, his hazel eyes were a blazing shade of amber, so he must have been in anguish.

"What do you mean I lost?!" Adam demanded. "The wolves ran off, didn't they?!"

"Of course," Loup replied. "Of course they did. So I guess you won."

"Loup, what are you not telling me?"

"Concerning?"

Adam sat down. "You got rid of the wolves who plagued this forest, so you must have known something about them. Tell us about it, Loup. We promise not to be frightened. After all, we have you and your sister and your men to take care of the forest and those of us who walk through it."

Louve held out her healthy arm to her brother, helping him be seated on a waist-high stump. The rest of us sat on the ground as if we were about to hear a master story teller regale us with enchanting tales.

"Wolves are pretty good in a fight, especially when the pack works together," Loup began.

"Unless their leader is a complete idiot!" interrupted Louve.

"Yes, if their leader is a complete idiot, she might get herself shot by an angry farmer."

Louve's baleful lower to her brother was nothing less than terrifying, but having known his twin sister since before birth, Loup wasn't at all bothered by the fire in her glare.

"But here's the thing," he continued, "a lot of animals that wolves eat are quite capable of defending themselves. They're huge. They have horns or tusks. It's not too hard for any of these animals with half a brain, a strong will to live, or both, to injure or even kill a wolf. Even a horse can break a wolf's forelimb."

Judging from the dark flames in her eyes, Louve was furious, but for once, she held her peace rather than arguing with her brother. I wondered what was happening between them that the rest of us were unable to understand.

"Even in the throes of death, a flailing victim can take a wolf to the next world with it, or whatever happens to animals when they die." Loup shrugged. "Common sense would tell a wolf to kill its prey while standing far enough away not to get hurt, but how is this done? Well, wolves have a pretty good method. The pack will surround the animal. When it turns to face one wolf, another will attack from behind. They won't leap; they'll just pull the prey down to them. However, the wolves don't want to keep fighting. The longer they fight, the more they risk being injured. They want to get the job done as quickly as possible. Is this bothering you?"

Of course it was bothering me, but my curiosity was getting the better of me, so I shook my head.

"The idea is to inflict the fatal wound and then hurry away so the animal can bleed to death without causing any more injuries to any of the pack members. When the wolves ran from you, _mon seigneur,_ it was not because you frightened them, but because they sensed they had wounded you in such a way that if left on your own for a little while, you would die, or at least become too weak to fight back, and the wolves would be free to finish you off without any real effort."

Adam's eyes were larger than I had ever seen them. He looked as if he were fighting back a wave of nausea.

Loup glanced my direction, lowering his eyes in deference. "If it makes you feel any better, the wolves weren't trying to kill you. They were just after your horse. Your Majesty fell to the ground, and still the wolves attacked only your horse. When you fought back, the wolves had no choice, but they were trying to be gracious. You will notice that they grabbed your shawl rather than your throat right after their leader broke your sorry excuse for a quarterstaff rather than breaking your arm. They bit at your ankles and purposely missed."

"Why?" I asked.

He shrugged. "It's not a wolf's nature to kill a human, but they will if necessary. I guess these wolves were just more tolerant than most."

"What about the wolves that attacked Papa?!"

Loup's hazel eyes were nearly amber from amusement. "Yes, what about that wolf that stuck its head through the gate and tried to break Monsieur Maurice's ankle?"

His sister shrugged. "What's he complaining about? His foot's still attached, isn't it? Besides, I don't think that wolf was trying to hurt him. I think she…I mean it…had her…its reasons for behaving the way it did."

Papa frowned. "What makes you so sure it was a female wolf?"

Louve nonchalantly drew her sword, inspecting it in the sunlight to see if it needed to be polished. "Wolves only come in two genders. There's half a chance it was a female." She lightly tapped Papa's ankle with her sword. "Come now, Loup. We have chores to finish."

She helped her brother rise from the stump where he had been sitting, supporting him as he began limping through the forest with her. I wondered if somehow the wolves had been the cause of our servants' broken limbs.

"The Beast lost the fight," Maestro Fife repeated. "I can't believe it! The Beast actually lost the fight!"

"Are you cold, Belle?" Adam queried.

"Very," I answered. "We should all return to the castle and get warm."

We were just saving face. Everyone knew it, but no one wanted to stay in the forest another minute.

When we were back in the castle, Adam and I sat in our favorite chairs by the fireplace. Mrs. Potts brought us some tea, and we sipped it while I read aloud. It seemed life would go back to normal.

"They would have killed me if you'd left me where I'd fallen," Adam remarked.

"Try not to think about it," I advised. "It's over now, and worrying will do neither of us any good."

Adam was quiet for another five pages before he added, "Thank you for saving my life."

I smiled. "You're welcome."

"It's hard being the king. You have to appear brave and stately in front of your servants. You have to hide your true feelings." He shuddered. "I don't think I'll ever sleep again."


End file.
